Sunil Gavaskar said that Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant could have stepped or refused to take the contentious run when a row erupted between his teammate Ravichandran Ashwin and Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan in an IPL 2021 match.
While most of the debate in the row between Ravichandran Ashwin and Eoin Morgan during the Indian Premier League (IPL) match was around who of the two was right or wrong, former India captain and batting great Sunil Gavaskar said that Delhi Capitals skipper and Ravichandran Ashwin’s teammate Rishabh Pant could have defused the situation.
Ravichandran Ashwin Ran An Extra Run Which Resulted In An Exchange Of Words With Tim Southee And Eoin Morgan
Ravichandran Ashwin then celebrated animatedly when he dismissed Eoin Morgan during the KKR innings. KKR wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik later explained that Eoin Morgan had taken exception to Ravichandran Ashwin taking the extra run.
Delhi Capitals’ Ravichandran Ashwin took to Twitter to observe that he didn’t realize the ball had deflected off Rishabh Pant’s body when the duo pinched the extra run via an overthrow, which in turn upset Kolkata Knight Riders’ fielders in the 41st game of the IPL 2021. Ravichandran Ashwin also said he had the right to take the extra run even if he knew it had ricocheted off a batter’s body.
Sunil Gavaskar: Rishabh Pant Could Have Stepped In And Defused The Situation
After Ravichandran Ashwin’s dismissal, KKR bowler Tim Southee and skipper Eoin Morgan got involved in a heated argument with the Indian spinner over the extra run taken. While Ravichandran Ashwin ended up with the last laugh by scalping Eoin Morgan for a duck, it was KKR who won the contest by 3 wickets with 10 balls to spare and delayed DC’s qualification for the playoffs.
“What nobody asked is, why did Pant run? He was the one who was struck by the ball and if at all anybody should have known that the tradition is not to take the run after the ball is deflected, then it was the Delhi skipper. Maybe, in the heat of the battle and the anxiety to add runs to the team’s total, he took that extra run,” Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
“But why blame Ashwin? He may not have even seen the ball hitting his skipper as he would be intent on getting to his end and may have only seen the ball that was away from a fielder and so responded for the extra run.
“Pant could have stepped in and defused the situation, but in the intensity of the battle and especially in the hot and humid desert atmosphere, it is extremely tough to keep a cool head, so he may have not realised what had happened,” explained Sunil Gavaskar.
In the 19th over of the Delhi Capitals innings, Ravichandran Ashwin and Rishabh Pant ran an overthrow after Rahul Tripathi’s shy from point had taken a ricochet off Rishabh Pant at the non-striker’s end. However, an argument broke out in the next over once Tim Southee had dismissed Ravichandran Ashwin.
Eoin Morgan quickly joined in, giving a mouthful to the spinner while Dinesh Karthik rushed in to play peacemaker. Ravichandran Ashwin later said that he hadn’t seen the ball striking Rishabh Pant but he would have taken that run even if he had.
While several former cricketers backed Ravichandran Ashwin as he was within the rules to take the extra run, some slammed the Delhi Capitals spinner for his action. Now, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has shared his views on the incident and said it is unfair to blame Ravichandran Ashwin.